William Lochead, who took off his black jersey to play white, drives in front of Knights goaltender Joseph Raaymakers as the Knights practice their powerplay with Lochead, a defenceman using his size in front of the goalie on offence as a forward. Photograph taken on Wednesday January 23, 2019. (Mike Hensen/The London Free Press)

The overager is preparing to make an eighth straight start Thursday in Windsor as Kooy continues to make his way back from a freak injury suffered during an off-ice warmup nearly two weeks ago at Budweiser Gardens.

“It’s still day-to-day and getting better each time out,” Kooy, a Vegas prospect, said. “Stuff happens for a reason and I’ll be back in no time. I’ve been doing a few goalie drills and taking a few shots here and there.

“I hope to be back playing and helping the boys win.”

London coach Dale Hunter wouldn’t rule him out for the entire week, which finishes Sunday evening in Oshawa. But there is a chance Raaymakers carries the load again.

“We have to be careful with the (Kooy) injury and make sure he doesn’t re-aggravate it,” Hunter said, “or he’s out two more weeks. So we’ll re-evaluate it each day to see when he can go.”

The Knights weren’t happy with their three-game northern swing. They aim to get on track with a back-to-back against Windsor, a potential first-round playoff foe.

“We played .500 on the trip (three out of a possible six points),” Hunter said. “You want to be over that. Everybody knows we’ve got to be better, especially on the road. We’ve got to win more games on the road.”

The Knights are 11-4-4-1 away from the Bud this season. They have picked up points, but haven’t closed out enough for their liking in opposing buildings.

“You could put that trip as kind of disappointing,” Raaymakers said. “Every game, we expect to win with our group here. I think that’s how it should be. You take the positives and move forward with them.

“I think I can be better. It starts with me. Everyone can be accountable for their play.”

Since their 15-game win streak ended last month in Owen Sound, the Knights have won nine of their next 16 contests.

That’s not up to their usual standards.

They expect to get on a roll again. No better time to start than two games against the Spitfires.

TOO LATE: The Knights will be without sophomore forwards Connor McMichael and Matvey Guskov, who won’t return from the Top Prospects game Wednesday in Red Deer in time for Thursday’s game in Windsor.

The Knights have been forced to shuffle their lines because of it. Some teams battling against London atop the standings won’t be in the same shorthanded situation this week.

The pursuing Soo Greyhounds, for instance, don’t play a game until Saturday.

“Everyone’s jumbled up (at forward),” Dale Hunter said. “Everybody gets to play. We’ll have rookies in the lineup and have everyone back (Friday).”

MAN IN THE MIDDLE: The Knights are still working with defenceman Will Lochead in front of the net on the top power-play unit.

The overager doesn’t have a 40-goal scorer’s touch around the net, but he’s certainly not shy to wreak havoc in the slot.

“You want a fearless guy,” Hunter said. “He’s not just there for the backdoor (pass). He’s screening shots and can deflect them. He’s big and strong and can hold his ground. It takes the eyes away from the goalie, which is what you want. Johnny T (John Tavares) does the same thing (in Toronto).

“He’s appropriate for it. You never know how it fits.”

AROUND THE RINK: Raaymakers’ next win will be the 100th of his OHL career . . . The goaltender shed light on his brief exit in the win against Sudbury last Friday that allowed emergency backup Lucas Bain to play 54 seconds of OHL hockey. “It was a miscommunication with the refs,” Raaymakers said. “I told one I needed my skate blade changed and he said that’s OK. The other one didn’t realize the situation and said you’re not allowed to change equipment. I had to sit out a whistle. It was unfortunate, but I think it was a great experience for Bain.” . . . Liam Foudy is riding a six-game goal streak heading into the latest showdown with younger brother Jean-Luc, who leads all OHL rookies with 30 assists . . . London has won three of four against Windsor this season. These are the final two games in their annual six-game head-to-head matchup.